Belag would remain behind and sleep in the early part of the day, but he would always join them by afternoon, his deep-throated voice singing through the grasses as he approached.
By midday of the sixth day of their trek northward, they came upon a wide, meandering river that wound its twisted way across the plain. Wildebeest, antelope, and ibex appeared from time to time at the river’s edge to drink. . each one a sight that astonished the humans and even, Drakis noted with amusement, the chimerian. Jugar at each opportunity managed to spin a tapestry of knowledge about these beasts based entirely on stories he had heard or, Drakis was convinced, that the dwarf made up on the spot.
They followed the river for four additional days, but by the morning of the tenth day it was obvious that the river’s course was leading more toward the west. When Belag reported that there were watering holes to be found on their northern course, Drakis determined to abandon the river, and once more they set off across the plain.
It was on the evening of the thirteenth day that they saw the great dust trail crossing the plains to the north. For three days they followed the long cloud of dust that seemed to precede them. By the end of the seventeenth day on the savanna, Drakis could see that the clouds of dust they had been following ended at a brown knob too distant for them to make out any detail.
When Belag left on his evening hunt, he promised to hunt in that direction and report on what he saw over their breakfast.
Drakis waited from dawn of the following day to hear Belag’s report.
The manticore did not return.
CHAPTER 32
“You’ve killed us, Drakis!” Mala screamed, her fists flailing against him as he tried desperately to restrain her without doing her any harm. He was finding it impossible to do either. “You did this! You killed Timuran. . destroyed our home. . destroyed our lives!”
All reason had fled from Mala. The despair and anger that she had pushed down behind a wall of apathy from the first step they had taken into Vestasia now exploded in a senseless rush of blind anger and rage focused on Drakis.
She shoved at him, pushing herself away and staggering back onto the trampled grass where they had all spent the night. Drakis was keenly aware of the audience around them. Ethis stood with both sets of arms folded across his chest, detached and observant. Jugar looked as though he were enjoying a play that was being enacted for his benefit, while RuuKag was openly enjoying Drakis being ridiculed and shamed by his supposed mate. The Lyric, at least, was paying no attention whatsoever.
Mala glared at Drakis. “I’ve walked for days. . days. . into this, this. . this nothing. . because you said we should. And now the one creature that provided for us. . brought us our food and made it even possible to live in this. . this armpit of the world has vanished because you sent him off to find out about something you know nothing about.”
Drakis breathed in deeply, reining in his own rage and embarrassment. “Mala, this isn’t the time for this. You just need to. .”
“No!” Mala shouted back, running one hand in frustration back from her forehead through the red hair that was now nearly an inch long. “I do not ‘just need to’ do anything for you anymore! You ruined it all, Drakis! Ruined our lives and led us out here to die!”
Drakis let out his breath and gazed up into the sky.
He could feel their eyes on him, waiting.
“Fine,” he said at last, a cheek muscle twitching as he spoke.
“What?” Mala said between clenched teeth.
“Fine. You’re right.” He was not looking at her, his gaze fixed on a horizon of his own choosing. “I did it all, Mala. . just the way you said. I brought down House Timuran and woke us all up to the lie we were living. I brought us into this dangerous, barren place. If it makes you feel any better, I agree with you that it is entirely my fault.” Then Drakis looked directly at Mala with the same cold stare through which he had often viewed his prey in battle. “But you, Mala, are here. All of us are here. How you got here or why isn’t going to change the fact that you are here right now. So you have a choice to make. It’s your choice, and you’re going to be responsible for it.”
He took a step toward the woman.
She stepped back. Drakis could not decide if her look was of fear or hate.
“You can either stay here, curse my name for as many days as you have left to you, and die,” Drakis said. “Or you can shut up, come with us, and do something that might get us through another day.”
Mala glowered back at him. “How dare you even. .”
“It’s up to you. You may not think I’m much,” Drakis continued, “but right now I’m all you’ve got. I’m going to find my friend Belag. . if he’s still alive. . and find some way to live another day. Come or stay-you decide.”
Drakis turned to face the rest of his companions. “That goes for you, too. Die on your own or come with me now.”
He gazed out over the tall grass and pointed toward the strange, brown mound to the north. “He went that way. Let’s go.”
Ethis smiled slightly and then, drawing his sword, walked in the direction Drakis was still indicating. The dwarf took his cue from the chimerian and followed closely behind. The Lyric jumped up from where she had been otherwise seemingly ignorant of the proceedings and, slapping Drakis on the shoulder in earnest support, quickly fell in line. RuuKag looked everywhere but in the direction of Drakis and lurched into movement after the Lyric.
Mala remained stone-still.
Drakis turned, drew his own sword and fell in line after RuuKag.
It was many long minutes before he heard Mala following behind him through the grass.
“What is it?” Drakis whispered as he crouched down in the grass.
Ethis knelt on one knee next to him. “I don’t know. . I’ve never seen anything like it.”
The tall grasses ended abruptly just a few feet in front of them. Beyond was a barren ground completely denuded of any plant life perhaps a thousand feet wide surrounding a mound of sun-baked mud so enormous that neither Drakis nor Ethis could see the sides from where they watched.
“It looked smaller this morning,” Drakis mused.
“It also looked a good deal closer,” Ethis observed, gazing at the deepening hues of the horizon. “We’ve only got about an hour of daylight left now. What do you suggest?”
“I don’t know!” Drakis sputtered. “It’s. . well, it’s enormous! Someone or something must have built it here. Look there, see the way there’s an overhang all around the bottom of the mound? It curves outward to keep predators off the top. The thing has openings all around it under that overhang, but they each seem to be blocked by a large stone. And we don’t know what’s on the other side of those stones either. The two of us are the only warriors left in a group whose remaining skills include butchering, storytelling, singing, and complaining.”
“So you were planning on storming the defenses?” Ethis asked.
Drakis chuckled. “No. . but we haven’t seen any signs of movement out of the. . wait! Did you hear that?”
“You were talking at the time and. .”
“Quiet!” Drakis said, holding up his hand as he cocked his head to one side.